Former President Donald Trump’s debate stage lies fuel hate in Ohio town

One of the most talked-about moments from this week’s first — and possibly last — televised presidential debate between Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump centered on a small, relatively unfamiliar Midwest town. 

It all started when ABC moderator David Muir asked Trump about his reason for rejecting a border security bill that would have placed thousands of additional agents and officers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump quickly deflected and veered off topic, stating that the nation had “lost itself” three years ago and is now failing. He then repeated a vitriolic unfounded claim targeting the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, a town of about 60,000, which has seen an influx of around 15,000-20,000 arrivals from the Caribbean nation in the past four years.

The moderator fact-checked Trump, noting that Springfield city officials have disputed the claim.

“[We have been told] there have been no credible reports of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Muir clarified. Nonpartisan, nonprofit newsroom PolitiFact also debunked the conspiracy theory during their live fact-checks during the debate. But the damage was already done. 

Trump, along with his running mate J.D. Vance, doubled down on the dangerous falsehood both during the debate and in live network coverage afterward. On Thursday, Springfield’s city hall was forced to evacuate after receiving a bomb threat, according to the city’s commission. Authorities are currently conducting a thorough investigation.    

Plus: Haitian American group demands retraction of Trump’s statements (Capital B)   

If you’ve been following this election season, or any of the previous ones, Trump’s rambling and chaotic language toward immigrants should come as no surprise. From claiming immigrants are “destroying the blood of our country” — a racist remark made at one of his rallies earlier this year — to saying people crossing the southern border are bringing “very contagious diseases,” Tuesday’s comment fits into a longstanding narrative of Trump and the Republican Party scapegoating immigrants in a desperate, divisive and dangerously manipulative tactic to appeal to voters who fear a less white America.

With a pulse on the lived experiences of Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, and beyond, hours before the debate, the Haitian Times published an article about the Haitian community’s growth and contributions to shaping the Midwestern city’s local economy and community dynamics. The story, a mix of information from reports originally published in NPR and Ohio-based news outlets, highlights both the positive and negative outcomes of the city’s influx of Haitian migrants, many of whom are in search of economic opportunities as they flee gang violence and political instability back home. While local businesses have benefited from hiring migrants in a city where the auto industry was once the backbone, the story also highlights a resurgence of white supremacist views.

More: Following Tuesday’s debate, URL Media published an exclusive interview with Haitian Times Executive Editor Macollvie Neel about the real-life consequences of Trump magnifying a baseless claim. She shared a story with us about one Haitian resident who said she was terrified to go to Walmart out of fear that she’d be assaulted. “People are scared for their lives,” Neel said.

Where’s Springfield, Ohio?

Springfield has seen its population grow by nearly 25% over the past four years, driven largely by Haitian newcomers. According to 2022 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in the city is roughly $45,000, and 53% of the population is employed. Less than 15% of residents hold a bachelor’s degree, and the ratio between the white and Black population is 3 to 1. Springfield, located in a swing state, is only an hour’s drive from Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance’s hometown, who described economic depression and white working-class alienation in this part of Ohio in his 2016 memoir turned movie “Hillbilly Elegy.”

In a related story, NPR spoke with a CEO of a manufacturing metal plant whose family arrived in Springfield some 165 years ago. In the interview, the employer shed light on the workforce gaps Haitian migrants have been able to fill in recent years. 

“Coming out of the pandemic, you know, the economy roared and demand was outpacing what we could produce,” he said, adding, “… Without the Haitian associates that we have, we had trouble filling these positions.”

The article published in the Haitian Times states that the city is overwhelmed with its ability to support newcomers. For example, Springfield’s hospitals are spending up to $50,000 each month on translation services for non-English-speaking patients. In schools, many new students require additional support, such as English as a Second Language (ESL), further straining already limited resources. 

“Our community has a big heart, but it’s being overwhelmed,” said Mayor Rob Rue on behalf of the city.

Plus: How Kamala Harris dragged Donald Trump (WURD Radio)

On Tuesday, Harris and Trump sparred over issues critical to US voters, including reproductive rights, foreign policy and immigration. On immigration, Trump said he would build more border walls and increase deportations and continued to scapegoat and belittle immigrants, implying that their presence is being exploited for political gain and that they are undermining the country’s democratic process. 

“… A lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they’re trying to get them to vote. They can’t even speak English. They don’t even know what country they’re in practically. And these people are trying to get them to vote. And that’s why they allow them to come into our country.”  

Plus: What would happen if millions of undocumented immigrants were deported? (La Noticia)

Throughout his current election bid and previous one, Trump has consistently used inflammatory rhetoric to play into voters’ fears and misconceptions about immigrants. He frequently refers to Vice President Kamala Harris as the “border czar,” despite Harris not having been assigned that role. Instead, in 2021, President Biden assigned her the role of addressing the root causes of migration from Central America. Experts say it was a complex mission in a region fraught with deep-rooted economic and social issues. 

Trump and GOP politicians have consistently portrayed Harris as failing to stem the tide of migrants, particularly in light of record-high illegal border crossings under the Biden administration, often overlooking the diplomatic and economic work she has done, including securing billions in aid for the region.

Plus: The myth of “Black jobs”: Unpacking race, jobs, and political rhetoric (Epicenter NYC)

For decades, the Republican Party has employed race-based political strategies to appeal to working-class white voters. The Southern Strategy, which gained prominence during the George Wallace era, framed the Black community as a societal burden, using segregationist rhetoric and coded language to appeal to racist sentiments. This tactic persisted through the presidential campaigns of Nixon, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush, who subtly employed race in political ads like the infamous William Horton ad, write Zoltan Hajnal and Marisa Abrajano in a paper published by the University of California, San Diego.

But politicians aren’t the only ones spreading harmful falsehoods this election season. 

Earlier this summer, two URL Media partners, AsAmNews and Documented, called out the sensational daily newspaper NYPost for inaccurately reporting that the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate former President Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania was Chinese. This falsehood, which had been online for more than an hour, began making its rounds on China’s social media app WeChat. AsAmNews published a screenshot of the original error, which the Post retracted later that night.

The outlet reported that the correction came too late for many in the Chinese community, who were outraged by the false report. For them, it echoes the early days of the pandemic when their community faced increased hate due to COVID-19.

“What the New York Post did was incredibly dangerous,” the nonprofit organization Stop AAPI Hate said in a statement cited by AsAmNews. “Yes, the Post issued a retraction. But the shooting of a former president is, frankly, a shocking moment for it to have engaged in such reckless misreporting. It’s hard to believe the New York Post did not realize what was on the line when it published that false claim – the safety of Asian American communities.”

Plus: How to combat misinformation & falsehoods this heated election season (URL Media)

Months before J.D. Vance’s tweet targeting Haitian’s in Springfield had gone viral, the tragic death of 11-year-old Aiden Clark last year had already stoked racial tensions in the city. Aiden was killed in December when his school bus collided with a car driven by a Haitian immigrant, an incident that many locals have used to justify anti-Haitian sentiment.  

While this accident was heartbreaking, many local residents, including Aiden’s parents, have spoken out against politicians, like Trump, using their son’s death as a political tool.

“Using Aiden as a political tool is, to say the least, reprehensible for any political purpose,” said Nathan Clark, Aiden’s father, during a city commission meeting held the same night as the presidential debate. He criticized politicians such as Bernie Moreno, Chip Roy, J.D. Vance, and Trump for exploiting his son’s death to stir anti-immigrant sentiment. 

“They can vomit all the hate they want about illegal immigrants… but they are not allowed to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio. Please stop the hate.”

Please stop the hate and spread of disinformation is a message we should all get behind.